The National Weather Service has issued a Red Flag warning for today running from noon until 7PM this evening. Warm weather combined with dry winds of 15 mph with gusts to 25, create an environment where fires can easily spread. Be extra special careful out there today.

While I was driving down Peekskill Hollow Road yesterday (Thursday) I saw the most wonderful thing: at home after home signs have sprouted calling for the protection of that road from a threatened "improvement" which would ruin the look and feel of Putnam's most exurban byway and alter forever the lives of those who live alongside it. Congratulations to the Friends of Peekskill Hollow Road for their organization and attentiveness. More community groups should follow your example.

If you're going to be working in the garden this weekend, and I wholly support that effort, here's what can be planted now, even before the last frost: lettuce, beets, carrots, radishes, dill, cilantro, cabbage, broccoli, celery, kale and potatoes. It's also a good time to start preparing your flower garden beds. Turn the soil, rake out the rocks and add heaping shovels full of the compost you've been working on all winter. You have been composting this winter, right?

There's an awful lot going on out there in Putnam-land this weekend. I'll be running sound and lights at the BATIK show at Arts on the Lake tonight, picking up garbage along roadsides in Kent's community cleanup day tomorrow morning and attending the Land Trust's 40th Annual Dinner that evening. What will you be doing?

If you're looking for a relatively easy 3-hour hike in the Highlands this weekend, Round Hill is the place for you. The trail starts on Route 9 just north of Route 301 (map) and follows an old country road for the first couple of miles of this ~6 mile loop hike. The hike will take you past the remnants of a day when this part of the Highlands was intensively farmed and then up the slope of Round Hill for a two mile long ridge walk culminating in a spectacular vista before the gentle descent back to where you began.

A full description of this hike can be found here. Other hikes and open spaces can be found at the Outdoor Recreation page at PlanPutnam.

Tonight:

Fulton, Livingston & the Steamboat

7pm Travis Bowman, lecture of Robert Fulton's trip up the Hudson River on a steamship in August of 1807. At the Beacon Sloop Club, (next to the ferry dock). Free. Info: www.beaconsloopcub.org, 845-265-2969

BATIK

8PM - At Lake Carmel Cultural Center. We are pleased to announce the debut of BATIK's new jazz album,"VUDU". For almost two years, a group of five accomplished musicians from the NYC area have joined together to create and record a magical CD incorporating styles and influences from all over the world in a jazz setting. Come celebrate the change of season with a new musical direction filled with exotic rhythms, harmonic color, lyricism and a tongue-in-cheek sense of humor. Dave Anthony (Drums & Percussion), Barry Hartglass (Electric Bass & Soprano Sax), Tom Nazziola (Percussion), Tim Ouimette (Trumpet & Flugelhorn), John Roggie (Keyboards). Reservations $12 ($10 for Arts on the Lake members) Hear samples at BATIK's Myspace page. Additional funding for this performance has been contributed by: Margherita's Lake View 47 Route 311, Lake Carmel, NY (845) 228-4000

Saturday:

Kent Community Cleanup Day

9AM - Noon - Gather at the Kent PD at the Town Center (Route 52) to pick up garbage bags and gloves and for assignments to locations, if you need one. Sponsored by the town's Beautification Committee and supported by the CAC and Stormwater committees.

Spring Gardening School

8:30 - 4:30PM - Spring Gardening School sponsored by Cornell Cooperative Extension. Start the season off by spending a day with Cornell Cooperative Extension Master Gardener volunteers and professional horticulture extension educators. These classes will help you grow salad greens, learn how to propagate annuals and perennials, use all the beauty of Coleus in your garden, manage garden pests organically, have healthy trees and much, much more. Our keynote speaker is sure to inspire and energize you. Duncan Brine founded his naturalistic landscape design and installation firm, Horticultural Design, Inc., in 1984. It specializes in native plants and whole property gardens. For mre information call 845-278-6738 or visit www.cce.cornell.edu/putnam

Go Green at Black Rock Forest

9AM - Celebrate sustainability with a tour (2 hrs.) of "green" buildings at Black Rock Forest Consortium in Cornwall. Executive Director Bill Schuster will lead us through this impressive facility, which features sustainable building materials, a geothermal heating system, solar panels, etc. Pack a picnic lunch for a hike (2 hrs.) in the Forest where Con Ed proposed building a hydro-electric plant, now the home of an active environmental education and research center. Meet: 9am Black Rock Forest Lodge Duration: 2-4 hrs. Level: Moderate

Hudson River Ecology/Outdoor Activities Workshop for K-12 Teachers

9:00 am - 2:30 pm. Teachers will have the opportunity to interact with a scientist from the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, seine in the river, test water quality, and gain resources for teaching students in a variety of grade levels. Sponsored by the Hudson River Research Reserve, Hudson River Estuary Program, NYS Department of Environmental Conservation, and the Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies. Six hours of professional development credit hours available. Space is limited, so register soon! Free event. To register, email harrisc@caryinstitute.org. Questions? Please call Cornelia Harris (845) 677-7600 x321 or Kim Notin (845) 677-7600 x303.

Town Hall Event - Health Care

3:00pm Town Hall event on healthcare at Beulah Baptist Church, 92 Catharine St, Poughkeepsie. Part of nationwide effort during April to highlight the issue of universal healthcare, sponsored by the coalition HealthcareforAmericaNow. Congressmen Maurice Hinchey & John Hall were invited. Hudsonvalley@citizenactionny.org or 845-797-4177

Putnam County Historical Society Members Opening Reception

5 pm - (Opens to the Public Sunday, April 19) George Pope Morris: Defining American Culture will focus on the life and work of this pioneering 19th century journalist and publisher who had a home in Cold Spring. The exhibition includes paintings, prints, photographs, letters, books, periodicals, and sheet music covers. It was organized by the Putnam County Historical Society and the Boston Athenaeum and will remain at the Foundry School Museum until mid-August. For more information, click here. To RSVP for the Members Opening Reception, call 845-265-4010 or email. 63 Chestnut Street, Cold Spring.

Putnam County Land Trust 40th Annual Dinner

The Putnam County Land Trust is celebrating it's 40th Anniversary this year with a Dinner and Auction at the Star Ridge Banquet Center in Southeast on Saturday evening, April 18th. The annual benefit features an outstanding buffet, live music, a silent auction, and a live auction led by Ivan and Laura Cohen. Past auction donations have included weekend getaways, golf outings, antique furniture, wine baskets, unique jewelry, original art, lovely plants, gift certificates, and many items handcrafted just for this event. There will be displays and presentations about Land Trust properties and Putnam County’s many scenic areas. Awards and recognitions will be presented to individuals who have made a difference for the environmental community by volunteering their time, skills and resources. Tickets are $50 and is money well spent. More information is available here or call (845) 228-4520.

Sunday:

Trail Land Boundary Marking

9:00AM - 4:00PM - During this one-day workshop, participants will receive first hand experience checking land boundaries and trail corridors for illegal uses such as ORV activity, trash dumping, trail land encroachment and other common problems. The "in the field" portion of this workshop will be spent off-trail, therefore students should feel comfortable with off-trail hiking situations. Visit http://www.nynjtc.org/node/1784/signup to sign up. Location: the AT's RPH Shelter in Dutchess County.

FrOGS Litter Pickup Day

10 AM - FrOGS picks up litter four times a year along route 22 from Haviland Hollow Road to Route 164. Please join our happy crew for litter pickup scheduled for this Sunday at 10am, meeting at the Rec Center in Patterson. Pickeruppers and safety vests are available. It's a dirty world out there - we need as much help as possible. Meet at Magnolias for lunch at 1:30.

Wetlands 101

3:00 - 4:30 - Please join us for an informative presentation and discussion on why wetlands are important and why you should protect them. Town of Patterson Recreation Center, Front Street, Patterson. Please RSVP today to Patterson Town Hall at 845 878-6500. Presenters include Ted Kozlowski, Town Environmental Conservation Inspector, Rich Williams, Town Planner, Lauri Taylor, Soil and Water District Manager.

Hunger in the Hudson Valley: How Can We Help?

3:00 - 5:30PM - Connecting Food, People and the Land - A Public Forum Sunday, at Mohonk Mountain House Parlor. Join us for an in-depth exchange with local workers from: Community Gardens & Farms, Gleaners, Processors, Storage Facilities, Food Pantries, and Soup Kitchens. Help make the connections that will feed more people in our communities. Reservations Required Call 845/256-2726 or email: mohonkconsultations@hvi.net Suggested donation: $10; Srs & Students $5

Into the Future:

Monday, April 20

Blanding's Turtle Habitat Mapping

7PM - Hudsonia biologists will present the findings of a project to identify and map habitats for the NYS Threatened Blanding's turtle in the Town of Wappinger. Town Hall, 20 Middlebush Rd, Wappinger, Contact: Tanessa Hartwig, 845-758-0600, hartwig@bard.edu or www.hudsonia.org .

James E. Hansen heads the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York City, a part of the Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland, Earth Sciences Division. He has held this position since 1981. He is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences at Columbia University.

After graduate school, Hansen continued his work with radiative transfer models and attempting to understand the Venusian atmosphere. This naturally led to the same computer codes in modified form being used to understand the Earth's atmosphere. He used these codes to study the effects that aerosols and trace gases have on the climate. Hansen has also contributed to the further understanding of the Earth's climate through the development and use of global climate models.

Hansen is best known for his research in the field of climatology, his testimony on climate change to congressional committees in 1988. That helped raise broad awareness of global warming, and his advocacy of action to limit the impacts of climate change.

Wednesday, April 22

EARTH DAY 2009: THE GREEN GENERATION

Earth Day 2009, April 22, will mark the beginning of the Green Generation CampaignTM! This two-year initiative will culminate with the 40th anniversary of Earth Day in 2010. With negotiations for a new global climate agreement coming up in December, Earth Day 2009 must be a day of action and civic participation, to defend the Green Generation’s core principles:

A carbon-free future based on renewable energy that will end our common dependency on fossil fuels, including coal.

An individual’s commitment to responsible, sustainable consumption.

Creation of a new green economy that lifts people out of poverty by creating millions of quality green jobs and transforms the global education system into a green one.

Under the umbrella of the Green GenerationTM, thousands of events are currently being planned in schools, communities, villages, towns and cities around the world. As in 2008, on April 19th Earth Day Network will celebrate Earth Day on the National Mall in Washington, DC, plus large-scale volunteer events in New York, Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Seattle, Los Angeles, Denver, Austin, Atlanta, and DC in partnership with Green Apple Festival. Sign up to volunteer! Our partners in Cleveland, Columbus, Tokyo, Buenos Aires, Beijing, and Manila, among others, are planning large events where everyone can participate. Find an event or activity near you!

Earth Day Program at Tivoli Bays Visitor Center

Enjoy a Closer Look at our Natural World The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation’s Hudson River Research Reserve will offer a family-friendly program at the Tivoli Bays Visitor Center on Wednesday, April 22, 2009 from 4:30pm to 7pm. Here’s your chance to celebrate Earth Day! There will be many “green” stations with activities such as: Beach Combing, Recycled Paper Making, “Earth Day Nature Hunt”, Solar Oven Cooking, “Unnatural Scavenger Hunt”, Predator vs. Prey games, “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle Relay Race”, Mammal Fur Touch Table and much more! Admission is free. Children twelve years and younger should be accompanied by an adult helper. For directions to Tivoli Bays Visitor Center: http://www.dec.ny.gov/lands/50681.html

Thursday April 23

The World is Blue: How our future and the world's are one

4PM -One of the world's most distinguished marine scientists, Dr. Sylvia Earle is an explorer in residence at the National Geographic Society and founder of both the Sustainable Seas Project and Deep Search Foundation. Her decades-long campaign against ocean pollution, harmful coastal development, and over-fishing has earned Dr. Earle the title of "Ambassador of the Oceans." She has explored the ocean's deepest depths for over 40 years, logging 7000+ hours underwater and spending weeks at a time in an undersea station. For more information, see www.caryinstitute.org. Location: Auditorium at Cary Institute of Ecosystem Studies, 2801 Sharon Turnpike, Millbrook, NY

Health Care for All - Can We Afford Not to Have It?

7 PM, Dr. Peter Barland, Physicians for a National Health Program will speak and lead the discussion; sponsored by Philipstown for Democracy and MHPA; Desmond-Fish Library Meeting Room, Rte 403 at Rte 9D, Garrison; contact: Margaret Yonco-Haines, 917-273-0808, margaret@haines.org

Friday, April 24

Celebrate National Volunteer Week 2009

9:00am - 4:00pm and Sunday, April 26, 2009: 9:00 am. Celebrate National Volunteer Week 2009 and Arbor Day The NYS DEC’s “ Hudson River Estuary Trees for Tribs” initiative will be hosting two volunteer bareroot-seedling “potting events” in celebration of this year’s National Volunteer Week (April 19-25), an event which seeks to honor the individuals who dedicate themselves to taking action and solving problems in their communities, and Arbor Day (April 24). Arbor Day is a national observance that celebrates the role of trees in our lives and promotes tree planting and care. Our volunteers will help pot-up bareroot seedlings for the “Hudson River Estuary Trees for Tribs” initiative- a program that offers free native plants to landowners who qualify for stream buffer restoration projects. In just two years, the “Hudson River Estuary Trees for Tribs” initiative has been responsible for planting more than 32,000 feet of stream buffers along the Estuary’s tributaries with 12,000 native trees, shrubs, and grasses. Over 70 projects have been completed to date with the help of some 1,200 volunteers and 50 project partners. For further information on “Hudson River Estuary Trees for Tribs”, please visit website: www.dec.ny.gov/lands/43668.html For specific questions regarding this volunteer event please contact Amy Bloomfield, Hudson River Estuary SCA Riparian Buffer Specialist, at abbloomf@gw.dec.state.ny.us and 845-256-3827.

Saturday, April 25

Three Moments in Time

8 PM Three Moments in Time - A staged reading by the Blue Horse Repertory Company. Presenting: Slaughter in the Lake by Jose Rivera, Thoughts on the Instant of Greeting a Friend on the Street by Jean-Claude van Itallie and Sharon Thie and A Brief Period of Time by Don Rifkin. At Arts on the Lake, Route 52 Lake Carmel. Admission is $10 (9$ for members) Reservations: (845) 228-2685 or rsvp@artsonthelake.org With *Peggity Price, *Brian Keeler, *Lora Lee Ecobelli and *Sean Hopkins.

Tuesday, April 28

Low Impact Development Conference

1PM - 5:30PM - Low Impact Development Conference - Dover Town Hall, 126 East Duncan Hill Road, Dover Plains, NY. Presented by Housatonic Valley Association. Sponsored by the Community Foundation of Dutchess County and Mark K. Morrison Associates. Adequate water supply and the health of our Aquifer are vital to the quality of life in the Harlem Valley and the Housatonic Watershed in which we live. Town Planning Departments need to balance the desire for economically favorable development with the negative aspects of increased stormwater runnoff. Not only does the increased stormwater runoff from poorly planned development negatively affect the quality of life of neighboring residents in the form of flooding and contamination of groundwater, it can and has taxed the limited resources of our Highway Departments, which in turn burden our Towns' budgets. Please come to both learn and contribute to the ongoing dialogue. www.growsmartdover.org

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